April 5, 2006

Review of "InterPlay" - Another Language's Multi-Site, Internet2-Enabled Performance

This past weekend was the performance of "InterPlay," a multi-site dance and arts event that linked performers at different locations together in real-time via the high-speed Internet2. I recently conducted an audio interview with Beth Miklavcic and Jimmy Miklavcic of Another Language who created this program.

You can read a review of this weekend's performance in The Salt Lake Tribune.

Technorati Tags: dance, iternet2, performance, video

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March 9, 2006

Interview with James Oliverio of Digital Worlds Institute

This morning I interviewed James Oliverio, professor and director of the Digital Worlds Institute at the University of Florida. He discussed the many collaborative programs that the Institute has organized that have united artists from multiple continents via the high-speed Internet2 and advanced video conferencing capabilities. A thread that ties these programs together is how the networked connections that join remote sites help to breakdown cultural barriers among participating artists.

Click here to listen to audio interview (MP3 format - Stereo - 8.55 MB - 18:40 Minutes)

Background

James Oliverio is a professor and director of the Digital Worlds Institute at the University of Florida. He is an internationally known creative artist, educator and producer with over 20 years of experience in film and electronic media. He's been awarded five Emmy Awards from the Atlanta chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and has received numerous grants and symphonic commissions.

The Digital Worlds Institute, which he heads, conducts interdisciplinary research and educational programs that unite engineering and arts disciplines by using the latest developments in digital technologies and networking to bring together cultures and artist from around the globe.

Collaborative Dance Performances

On the Digital Worlds Institute website you can learn about and watch archived videos from many of their programs. (View research and production projects to access these programs.)

Of particular interest to dancers are two programs that you'll want to explore: "Dancing Beyond Boundaries (2001)" and "Non Divisi (2003)." Here are two images from Non Divisi:

Click pictures for larger images

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March 8, 2006

Internet2 and Expanded Opportunities for Arts and Performance

I spoke with Ann Doyle this morning. Ann is the manager for Arts and Humanities Initiatives at Internet2, a consortium of universities, industries and government that are developing and deploying advanced networking applications and technologies. (Beth Miklavcic and Jimmy Miklavcic, whom I interviewed yesterday about their InterPlay performance, use the Internet2 for their distributed programs).

You should definitely visit the link to the Arts and Humanities Initiatives that I just mentioned above. There are some fascinating resources about a range of distributed arts programs. I happened to come across an interview (PDF) with James Oliverio, director of the Digital Worlds Institute at the University of Florida, whom I'll be interviewing tomorrow about their dance and performance programs that unite multiple locations around the globe.

I first contacted Ann Doyle because I wanted to learn more about the "Cultivating Communities" dance program that she hosted for Internet2 in 2002. If you visit "Cultivating Communities," you can learn about a series of dance performances that brought together dancers from multiple locations using motion tracking, motion capture and other interactive technologies in conjunction with the near TV broadcast quality of the Internet2 infrastructure - you'll also find a number of videos for these performances.

Ann believes that there are two important ways that the Internet2 project contributes to fostering new types of artistic possibilities and performance opportunities.

First, the network infrastructure delivers near broadcast quality video and audio to participating sites. Plus, there is very low latency, which means that the "roundtrip interactive time," as Ann says, is virtually nil. With top-notch video and low-latency, there are opportunities for distributed spontaneity that really didn't exist before when collaborating with remote colleagues and artists.

Second, this network infrastructure provides an opportunity for dancers and other artists to "think digitally." For example, if you go back to the "Cultivating Communities," a new choreographic question arises. Choreographers now have to think beyond the fixed borders of a single stage and consider their work in the broader context of multiple locations joined together by a digital network. These types of distributed programs raise many questions about the choreographic process and dance in general.

They also raise the question of how dancers and other artists are being prepared for distributed programs at the college and university level. Ann mentioned the Manhattan School of Music (MSM), which has been a leader in leveraging the Internet2 for conducting master classes and performances. Here's an article by Christianne Orto about the educational programs at MSM. Orto is the director, recording and distance learning at MSM and you can read an overview of their Distance Learning programs. Ann also directed me to dance programs at universities that are using Internet2 to conduct performances and classes - I'll be following-up soon with these contacts.

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March 7, 2006

Interview with Another Language About InterPlay

Today I interviewed Beth Miklavcic, the artistic director, and Jimmy Miklavcic, the executive director, of Another Language, an interdisciplinary dance company, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, that they started in 1985.

Click here to listen to audio interview (MP3 format - Stereo - 9.1 MB - 19:18 Minutes)

During this interview Beth and Jimmy discuss their InterPlay series of performances that unite multiple venues in a real-time collaborative program that relies upon high-speed video conferencing over the Internet2 backbone.

Their next program, "Dancing on the Banks of Packet Creek: RealTime Distributed Surrealistic Cinema" will take place March 31st through April 2nd 2006 at multiple locations from the University of Alaska Fairbanks to the University of Maryland where I plan to watch this performance.

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